For one, I love seeing the little ones decide on a costume and then burst with excitement anyone asks them what they are going to be for Halloween.

I also love the preschool parades. And watching how into the characters each child becomes. That’s not Elizabeth as Snow White, she really IS a princess. That’s not my son as Batman, he really IS the masked wonder.

But the candy? That’s one thing I don’t love so much. Mostly because sugar is like a drug for my kids. They literally go from normal little beings to two wild and wooly hooligans in seconds any time they eat too much of it.

In the “off season,” it’s pretty easy to manage their exposure to sweets. But Halloween is really tough. After all, it is a holiday devoted pretty much to candy!

I learned the really hard way that unless I have a plan in place, my two little guys will find ways to sneak in more than their allotted share (3 – 5 pieces of candy for the night. period.). The key is to use what my husband calls the “distract & deflect method” when they are most likely to reach for more candy.

Here’s our plan for the evening — sticking to it helps me help them from ingesting too much candy, without compromising on the fun.

Our 7-step plan for avoiding the sugar rush

Do you take steps to moderate your child’s candy intake on Halloween? If so, what works for you?

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2 Responses to 7 steps to avoid a Halloween sugar rush

Tarasays:

October 29, 2013 at 11:15 am

We have dinner before trick or treating. We go to Chipotle for $3 booritos! Then she’s allowed a couple of pieces of candy. She gets kind of scared of the Halloween decorations so we don’t stay out too late.

Momto2says:

November 2, 2013 at 2:05 pm

We simply never started trick-or-treating. No bag of candy=not binging on candy. Our boys never complain about it and do not seem to care that their friends do something they do not. We stay in and have movie night with our usual treats of popcorn and gummy bears…ahhh a no-fuss holiday.

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